They were ruthless men with unchecked power, controlling their people with an iron fist. Suppressing all dissent, they demanded absolute loyalty, jailing, or killing those who opposed them. They ruled by force of personality, but were plagued by secret fears and private demons. They were dictators—tyrants who shaped the twentieth century and left their mark on our own.

From Mussolini to Saddam Hussein, dictators have shaped the world we live in. What drove their thirst for domination and control? How did they seize and wield power? What forces rose up against them or resisted them in secret? How did they finally come to the bitter end? Today, with authoritarian leaders on the rise from the Philippines to Venezuela, these questions are more relevant than ever.